The Second War
by xLETxITxRAINx
Summary: Grief. Regret. A simple mistake. Thats all it took. Maybe they weren't careful enough. But that's not the point. Venjix is back. His target is different, yet the goal is the same: destroy the power rangers and control the world. Off hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N: He everybody, I'm back! I know its been forever since I've posted, but Em and I will try to get back on our Twilight stories as soon as we can. My guilty pleasure - Power Rangers! I think I'm obsessed. I loved the RPM series, and am sad that it ended so quickly, so I must expand on it! On to the Rangers!**

Disclaimer: If I owned the Power Rangers, RPM would have never ended….

(Starts right after they defeat Venjix)

"Well, rangers, I must say that I am very proud of all of you, but it is now time to say goodbye. I have a special contactor for you, which can access your special bio-fields, but only once." Dr. K said to the newly victorious rangers, smiling.

"I also have some thing special for each of you." The Dr. walked up to Summer first, holding something in her hand.

"Summer, you were brave and strong, especially when your friends needed you. Your courageous acts will not be forgotten, and your descendants will tell of these for centuries to come," she said, with a knowing glance.

Summer took the small box from her friend's outstretched hand, and removed the lid. Inside was a silver chain bracelet, with a yellow gem gleaming on it.

She fought back tears, and pulled Dr. K into her embrace.

Dr. K walked up to Dillon next, and said to him," Dillon, you came here, not knowing who you are or where you came from. Though you still don't know this, you have learned something more important. You learned who you now are and where you're going."

She continued around to each of them, with kind words and presents at hand, until she got to Ziggy.

She simply handed him a contactor, and offered no words or kind gestures.

"That's it? Not even a good job?" Ziggy complained. "Not at the moment, no," Dr. K replied, seeing Summer's turn at a knowing look, and turned away from the quickly to hide her blush.

Dr. K closed and locked the ranger's morphers' case, and took one last look at her rangers before the all left to pursue their futures.

"Looks like it's just you and me now Doc!" Ziggy said, putting is arm around her. He expected her to snap at him, but to his surprise, she smiled. He couldn't believe he'd finally gotten somewhere with her. They walked out of the garage together, starting to plan for their new school.

**(Four years later)**

Ziggy slept, snoring loudly. He didn't really realize how tired he was, until an annoying, loud beeping sound woke him.

He jumped up quickly, and knew he needed to silence that beeping now. The sound was coming from the computer on the bedside table.

Ziggy turned the screen away from the bed, and took a look at the words appearing on the screen. _**URGENT! Ziggy, answer this contactor NOW! **_He hit a few buttons, and Dillon and Summer popped up on the screen.

"Ziggy, why won't Dr. K answer when we try to contact her?" Dillon demanded before Ziggy could open his mouth.

"She's been under a lot of stress lately, and she disconnected it. She really wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody." He spoke into the screen, mumbling slightly.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up. "Well, do you think you could give a message to her?" Summer asked, more calmly. Ziggy nodded, and listened.

"Things have been fine, up until a few hours ago. It seems that when Tenaya downloaded that virus onto Venjix's hard drive, something downloaded into her. It's been lying, dormant in her, but something activated it. Venjix is accessing her, from a remote location. Nothing to serious yet, but we're waiting." Dillon said, as quickly as he could.

Suddenly, the connection started to get fuzzy, blinking on and off. "What's happening to Tenaya?" Summer yelled. She and Dillon were shoved aside, as Tenaya showed her face on the screen.

"Nice to see you again, Ranger Green," she spoke in the same drone of Venjix. "I'm looking forward to seeing you in person in a few moments." As soon as Venjix finished its sentence, Tenaya fainted.

Summer rushed over to her, while Dillon started to question Ziggy. "What did that mean?" he said, still in his demanding tone.

Before Ziggy could answer him, a cry from a small child was heard from another room in the house. "No," Ziggy whispered, horrified.

"Doc!" he yelled, completely ignoring Dillon, speaking to someone in the direction of the bed. "It's back," he said, as he bolted out the door.

Dillon watched, surprised, as Dr. K suddenly appeared on screen. "You… and Ziggy?" he stuttered, completely baffled.

Ziggy was running down the hall, trying to hit the special button on his contactor, activating the green ranger bio-field. "RPM GET IN GEAR!" he yelled, still running.

The second the transformation was complete, he transported, landing in a small room, painted yellow. In the center was a crib, and the red ranger was bending down, reaching for what lay inside.

"Scott?" Ziggy questioned. The ranger turned around, holding a small baby in his arms.

"Guess again," Venjix laughed.

"But… how?" Ziggy stammered. Only then did he notice what it was holding. "No… please, don't hurt her. I'll do anything" he said, weakened.

"Send my greetings to my creator." Venjix laughed again, and disappeared. Ziggy fell to his knees, sobbing. She couldn't be gone, she just couldn't.

Dr. K realized something was wrong almost immediately. For the first time in three months, her house was silent.

She turned to Dillon, still baffled about her sudden appearance. "You… and ZIGGY?" he said again.

"Dillon," she said, exasperated," let me talk to Summer. You go take care of your sister."

Dr. K hurried to relay instructions to the blond, telling her where to go, and what to do about Tenaya. The Doctor wished her luck, and switched off the computer screen.

After listening carefully, Dr. K heard cries again, but these were not from a child.

She ran, as quickly as she could, to her baby's room.

There she watched her husband sob uncontrollably. She, too, dropped to her knees, and pulled him into her arms.

She ran her fingers through his curly, messy hair, and whispered words of comfort to him, but it was no use. Inside, her heart was shattering.

A.N. What do you think? I'm trying to get back into my story-writing grove. :) I have a lot of ideas for later in the story, but I'm just trying to come up with the right part in-between to make it work. I'll try to update again soon. FYI- Who ever is reading my Twilight stories- they are on an indefinite hold. I'm just really feeling them right now. =(


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N. Wow, this story got over 23 views in the first hour I posted it! That's great! I haven't been able to get on the site and check it again, since my computers acting up, but I'll check the status when I post this chapter. Thanks for reading. Oh, and btw, this going to be the tough stuff to write out in the next couple chapter, because I haven't really planned them out to well, so just bare with me. Alright, I'm done rambling now. **

**Disclaimer: These things are so stupid. If I owned the stuff, would I be posting on here, or would I be out making billion dollar movies? Just saying. But, so I don't get kicked off the site, I own nothing. There happy?**

Waiting was horrible. That's all they did for days while they waited for the other rangers to get there.

Dr. K knew that Summer, Dillon, and Tenaya could be half around the world for all she knew, but she wished they wouldn't take as long.

Flynn had gotten there a few hours after Dr. K gave Summer the instructions to contact the other rangers, since he still lived inside the city.

Scott, Gem, and Gemma were out on a military mission, and would meet up with them tomorrow. Still, even with that small comfort in mind, the wait was agonizing.

Upon arrival at their old base, the garage, Flynn was thoroughly scanned for Venjix hardware. When he questioned, the doctor simply explained that they couldn't be too cautious. She quickly told him what happened, stumbling over some parts.

"How's he takin' it?" Flynn asked the doc, who seemed surprisingly calm. She gave a worried glance over to her husband, who was sitting in her lab chair, unmoved for the last two hours.

"Hard," she finally replied. "I've had to talk him out of tracking Venjix down himself twice, but other than that, I think he's in denial.

"How are you takin' it?" he then asked, looking down at Dr. K, waiting for a reply. She stared at the floor for a moment or two, before replying," Horrible. My daughter is gone and there's nothing I can do about it. But I have to be strong, for him. If I don't keep comforting him, he's going to completely lose it."

She gave another look at her husband, who now had his head in his hands. "He can't de-morph either," she turned to Flynn, answering his unspoken question.

"It's not safe to use the morphers now, after what happened with Scott's. So if he de-morphs, he won't be able to morph again until I've finished developing the new morphers. And I have no idea how long that will take." Flynn saw the look on her face, how she felt completely helpless in this situation.

After a while, Dr. K moved from his side and back into the lab. She hated to see Ziggy like this, so alone and without his usual liveliness.

She walked over to the back of the chair, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "How are you?" she asked. Ziggy barely even blinked.

After a minute, he looked up at her. The pain in his eyes nearly killed her. She held back her tears, knowing he would be able to see her cry without breaking down himself.

She untangled her arms from around his neck, walked around to the front of the chair, and sat down in his lap. Ziggy leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.

Dr. K snuggled up to her husband's chest, exhaustion washing over her. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep for a long time. Ziggy hadn't got much more then her, but luckily for him, his daughter's cries were usually for her mother.

Ziggy wrapped his arms around his supportive wife. He didn't know how she had put up with him for this long, but he was glad to have her by his side.

He watched the doctor's eyes close, and her body relax. He tried to do the same, hoping the nightmares would stay away.

-----------

"Doc, do you mind telling us…" Scott started to say, as he stormed through the open doors of the garage, Gem and Gemma at his heels. He was quieted by the look on Flynn's face.

"Shh!" Flynn warned quietly. He gestured in the direction of the lab.

"I never knew Ziggy talked in his sleep. I've been here long enough to know it's only when he's having a nightmare. Otherwise, he's quiet. The nightmares have finally stopped. It's sweet, though, they really fit together. The doc can tell when they come, and tightens her hold on him."

The rest of the team just stared at Flynn strangely. "What, I've been bored. Nobody else was here."

"Flynn, what is going on? What was the big emergency? Why are we here? Where are Dillon and Summer?" Scott demanded, without giving Flynn time to answer.

"One at a time, man." Flynn complained. "Dillon and Summer are on their way with Tenaya. You're here because your legs brought you here. And the big emergency is that Dr. K and Ziggy's daughter was kidnapped by Venjix who was in your ranger suit. Which reminds me…"

He picked up the Venjix scanner that the doctor had dropped, and scanned the members of his team. He didn't really understand the symbols and characters on the screen, but he figured since no alarms were blaring that they were clean.

"Wait, Dr. K, and Ziggy had a kid and didn't bother to tell us?" Scott asked, clearly confused.

"Yay…" "Good for them…" "Dr. K must be…" "So happy…" "She did have a little…" "Crush on him…" Gem and Gemma squealed, as happy as ever.

Dillon's car suddenly screeched through the garage door, and the team had jump out of the way to avoid getting run over. Someone was screaming in the backseat.

Dillon jumped out of the driver's seat, and disappeared again as he pulled someone out of the back. Tenaya screamed, her face scrunched up in pain.

Dillon carried her through the garage, and into the lab. Dr. K and Ziggy jumped up, suddenly wide awake. The doctor's question was simple. "What is happening to her?"

**A.N- Was it okay? I know its kind of short. And I hate to end on a cliffhanger, because that means the next chapter has to be really good, but I wanted to get an update out today. Last time I checked, I had over 71 views! Thanks! I don't want to be like one of those authors the says- Review, or I'll never post again- but I only have one review. =( (Thanks for being the only one!) Could I have a few more? I have it set so you can post a review even if you don't have an account. Please. I'll try to update again tomorrow. Buh-Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. So so so sorry for the long wait!!! Been so busy… my birthday was this weekend! Anyway, here's chapter three. I hope it was worth the wait. **

**Disclaimer- I just went to an auction and bought the whole Power Rangers Franchise!! But then I woke up…**

"What is wrong with Tenaya?" the doctor questioned again. "If I knew, don't you think I would have done something about it by now?" Dillon snapped back. He placed the still screaming girl down on the examination table, and turned to the doctor, aggravated.

"Look, why don't you stop standing there gawking and help!" he yelled at her. Dr. K took a step back, feeling the sharp edge those words had.

"Hey," Ziggy said to him, speaking for the first time in hours," leave her alone! She's been doing the best she can, and that's all you can ask of her. None of this is her fault, okay, none of it. Either stop screaming orders at her or get out."

If it hadn't been for the screaming, the room would have been completely silent. Everyone just stared him, shocked. Ziggy had never stood up to anyone, especially not Dillon.

Everyone stood, frozen, except Dr. K. She had moved over to where Tenaya lay, and began running tests. After a moment, she turned to face Dillon.

"The Venjix generation seventeen virus has worked its way into her genetic structure, bonding with micro-organisms and nervous cells which connect to vital part of her brain that can sense a biological disturbance. If my calculations are correct, the virus has special technology, that when it reaches the bloodstream it will send out a wave of its own electronic micro-organisms, which travel to the brain, and create a sensory burst of electrons, which generate the assumption that the systems of her body are in pain, thus the screaming."

Seeing the confused looks on her rangers' faces, she simplified her observation. "The pain is all in her head, it doesn't exist."

"That's all great," Dillon said, this time keeping the edge out of his voice, "but how exactly are we supposed to help her?" Dr. K grasped something in her lab coat pocket before responding.

"The same thing you do with a computer when it's infected with a virus, you restart her." She pulled out a small, silver pocket watch, and a key. Dillon instantly understood.

He walked over to her, grabbing the watch out of her hand. He knelt down beside the examination table, and stuck the key in the slot. Their song played, and he whispered soft words to his sister, unintelligible to the others in the room.

Whatever Dillon was saying seemed to be working, because Tenaya's screams started to subside. The team watched her settle into an uneasy sleep. Dr. K smiled, before once again returning to her computer.

Scott walked over to her, "What'cha working on Doc?" She typed a few more things into her computer, before answering, "I'm working on developing the Series 2 Ranger Morphers. It hasn't been as difficult as I had originally foreseen. All the original technology just needs a few adjustments and we should be good to go."

"That's great Doc, keep working on them," Scott, Flynn, Gem, and Gemma filed out of the room.

Dillon was by his sister's side, and Summer by his. Ziggy had gotten back into his annoying habit of looking over the good doctor's shoulder as she worked. "You'd think that after all these years, that would have gotten less annoying," Dr. K addressed her husband, smiling at him.

* * *

The minutes turned into hours, but finally the doc called her rangers back into the lab.

"I've finished!" she said, actually excited. In her hand she held one of eight different colored devices. "Your ranger colors will be the same."

Summer approached the brilliant doctor. "Who is that one for?" she asked. The other rangers followed her finger, but Dr. K snatched it away before anyone could see it, muttering something to herself.

"So what's the plan Doc?" Dillon asked her.

"That won't be necessary subject D-44," a voice droned from behind them. Venjix walked through the door, still in the original red ranger suit. "I'd like you to meet my newest project, subject J-89."

A small figure walked into the room, it's normally brown eyes glowing red. "The child was amazingly smart already, and her brain was surprisingly compatible with the Venjix generation 19 virus."

"You monster," the good doctor choked out through sobs. Her heart was breaking at the sight of her three month old daughter, helpless against Venjix's power.

Ziggy was three steps ahead of her. He had already grabbed his new morpher. "RPM, get in gear!" Ziggy ran right towards his daughter and scooped her up in his arms. She was angry, even before she was kidnapped she hated to be held. Ziggy struggled to hold on to her, the blows actually causing him pain.

"Doc, do you have that anti-virus program working?" he yelled back at her. "I'm trying!" she replied, still crying.

"Come on guys, let's take care of Venjix," Scott said, seeing they were needed. The rest of the team grabbed their series 2 morphers," RPM, get in gear!" They all attacked at once; kicking and punching whatever part of Venjix they could reach.

"I've got it!" the doc exclaimed, "Bring her to me." Ziggy ran over to her, still holding the struggling infant in his arms. His wife hooked wires to her daughter's arms. "Ziggy, this program isn't going to work completely. She will still be a hybrid, like Dillon, and I don't know what side affects the virus will have on her." "Don't think about it, just do it," he said. The father craved to have his daughter back.

The anti-virus surged through the small girl's body, and she collapsed, asleep in her father's arms. Venjix growled in frustration. "I'll be back for her!" it said, before stalking out of the room.

* * *

Ziggy smiled. He was standing in the doorway of his wife's lab. She sat in her worn out chair in front of the many computers, breast feeding her beautiful daughter.

Ziggy walked into the room, closing the door behind her. "It's time." He said to the doctor. "So soon?" she questioned, the sadness in her voice eminent. "It's not safe for her anymore. We need to hide her." He said to his poor wife, hiding his sadness for her sake.

"Is it far? Is the couple nice?" Dr. K asked her husband, trying to find a way out of this. "I've told you a million times, I found the perfect parents for our baby girl. It's the only way." The young doctor looked down at the now sleeping girl in her arms. "I'm just going to miss her so much."

The green ranger nodded," I am too, but we need to think about what's best for her." "13 years." She said, looking up at Ziggy. "What?" he said. "That's as long as I'll wait to get my daughter back. No more."

"Fine," He told her," I need to take her now. Say good-bye now." Dr. K's eyes filled with tears, "Good-bye my beautiful, sweet daughter. I'll see you again, my darling Jezibel."

**A.N. I'm so sorry it took so long. I was super busy. I hope the wait was worth it. I want to thank everyone who reviewed. The next couple chapters should be easier to write, because I have those planned out. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N. This is where the story gets really easy to write. I've been planning these upcoming parts for a few weeks, so I hope it will be the most well written part of the story. I want to thank all those who reviewed, favorited, or alerted. Extra special thanks to TiredGreenEyes and animeotakupooh, for being so nice and awesome! This chapter is dedicated to all you guys.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my teddy-bears…**

Amanda hated school. Okay, it wasn't really school she hated, it was her social studies teacher. How could one person be so mean, strict, and boring? "Jezibel! What do I need to get your attention? Tap dance?"

Ugg, Jezibel, her dreaded first name. It took her years to convince her mom to let her go by her middle name. Every other teacher she ever had, had no problem calling her Amanda. Heck, her friends even had nicknames for her nickname.

It wasn't just her, Bobbi was Roberta, Jess was Jessica, and Liz was Elizabeth to their social studies teacher. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that, could you repeat it?" she said, being as polite as she could.

Her teacher was detention-crazy. Anything they ever did wrong was detention. "I can't right now, but I'll be more than happy to repeat it for you after school. Detention!" Amanda's teacher barked at her. Oh, God, this is not good.

Her coach was going to kill her. She had a major soccer game today, right after school. This game would decide weather her team would go to the championship.

Ring Ring! Thank God, the bell for end of period. Back to homeroom, for science. Science was one of her favorite classes, not because it was easy for her, or because it was interesting, but because Derik was in this class.

Derik, star of the soccer team, incredibly cute, funny, but kind-of, well, un-smart. Okay, that's not a fair assessment. He was in the advanced math class, the only advanced class her small school offered, but he struggled in that class. Oh, but she had no problem giving him a few pointers.

Amanda's homeroom teacher was also her science and writing teacher. She was absolutely amazing. Always so nice and happy, and funny.

Today they were starting on their science projects, and were going to find out their partners. They were making models of the digestive system out of common household materials. "Amanda," her teacher called out, "you'll be working with Derik." SCORE!

The class all went to different parts of the room, carrying their project materials. She found herself looking up at the five-something frame of, in her opinion, the hottest guy in school. She stood up and followed him over to a corner of the room next to the window.

She knew that she had no chance with him; he preferred bottle-blonds with perfect figures, and blue eyes. Her looks were simple, shoulder length, light brown, slightly wavy hair. Her eyes were brown, her lips full and pink, and she was skinny, with no figure.

Amanda's life was far from perfect. Her parents had divorced a little over a year ago. The only reason she got on the soccer team was because otherwise they wouldn't have enough players for a team. The only thing she felt she was good at was her school's play, but she still wasn't good enough to get a good part.

She had quite a temper, and had once sent her mother to the hospital because of it. She was very little, and her mother had assured her that it wasn't her fault. Amanda had kicked a cist in her anger.

Amanda wasn't very strong. She only found strength when she was angry. She was only smart when she was calm. When she was scared or nervous, it was almost as if she could 'feel' things. They were just small hunches, usually just improved smell or hearing, but tended to be accurate.

"Hey, Mand, you still with us?" Derik questioned, waving his hand in front of the girl's face. She snapped out of her thinking trance, and started to work on the project.

The hour of the period start to come to an end. They only had about ten minutes left to finish their project. Amanda and Derik had just put the finishing touch on their model, and were talking about the game that day.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the room. Through the smoke Amanda could see three figures come into the room. She hadn't noticed that she had grabbed Derik's hand. He, sensing her fear, started to push her behind him.

The smoke started to clear, revealing a man in red spandex, followed by two bulky looking robots. "I'm looking for the one they call Jezibel. Reveal her and I promise I will not harm you," droned the person in the middle, who was clearly also a robot.

"There's no one with that name here!" Derik said bravely, clutching Amanda's hand harder. The robot walked towards him. "Your attempts to protect her are insignificant," he said, and threw him across the room.

Amanda's angered grew. "Subject J-89, it's good to see you again." "Stay away from my friends," she warned the monster. The robot just laughed, and pulled out some sort of gun. He pointed it at Derik, to show it meant business.

Amanda had had it. She kicked the gun out of his hand, and punched him in the stomach. It was an all out battle. Amanda was fighting hard, but she was losing.

The robot threw her across the room, and she landed near Derik. She backed up towards him, and checked for any bleeding. That's when another figure charged into the room, this one in green spandex.

He ran towards her, and grabbed her. Amanda kneed him in the groin. He gasped in pain, and lowered to the ground.

She stood in front of Derik, protecting him. She was relieved when he started to stir, but the freak in red spandex was coming towards her. Amanda continued to fight him off, but her anger was turning into fear.

That's when six more figures in different colored spandex raced into the room. Oh God, she was dead. She dropped to the ground next to Derik, anger completely replaced by fear.

But the figures in spandex ran straight towards the robot in the red spandex. She took this opportunity to examine Derik's injuries more closely, and saw he only suffered minor bleeding.

The robots knew they had lost, and started to retreat, but not before the head robot turned to her," Your strength is great subject J-89. We will meet again."

The others in spandex pressed a button on their wrists and the suits disappeared. Amanda found herself facing two girls and four guys. They were all wearing dark jeans and black jackets over tee-shirts of the same color as their spandex suits, except for two of them, twins, who were wearing jogging suits.

The one dressed completely in black walked over to the man in green spandex, and helped him up. He two pressed a button on his wrist and lost the suit.

"Mands…?" Amanda heard Derik groan from behind her. "I'm fine Derik, thank you."

She got up and walked over to the people in the middle of the room. Her eyes met each of theirs before she spoke," Who are you people?"

**A.N. Well, I lied, only one more chapter of planned stuff. This part could have happened in so many places, but I decided to go with school. What do you think? I hope you liked it. Please Review!!!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N. Sorry, I know it's been a while. I've been super busy. (Yeah, I know what you're saying, 'When isn't she busy?') But this whole time I've been busy I've been planning for the story. Right, that sounds good, let's go with that. I'm going to have a hard time writing the next chapter though, so hopefully this chapter will last you a good amount of time. On to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I was watching a game show. And I was invited to be on it. Behind one door were the rites to Power Ranger. Well guess what. I picked the wrong door. I got a pony. :(**

"Who are you," Amanda asked the people that had just saved her friends and her lives. Two of them, the twins, bounded forward, the grins never leaving their faces. They opened their mouths to speak when the frizzy haired man in green stopped them, "Not now. We need to go somewhere safer."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't even know you people," Amanda took a step back with these words, scared. "Amanda," her teacher said, walking towards her. She put her hands on the young girl's shoulders, "trust them. They'll protect you. Go, before it's too late." Amanda's teacher pulled her into a hug.

Amanda pulled away after a moment. "Okay, I'll go with you. I guess I don't really have much choice. Just let me get my stuff." As Amanda walked towards the closet to get her coat and books, her teacher turned towards the man in blue. "I never got to thank you for returning me to my mom. Thank you, you saved my life." He nodded to her, "Anytime lass, anytime."

"Alright, I'm ready to go." Amanda said, stepping towards the man in green. "Wait, where exactly are we going?" She said, hesitating slightly. "We," the frizzy haired man took a step towards here, "are going home." He grabbed her arm before she could jump back and hit a button on his wrist. In a second they were gone, and in an entirely different place.

"God, don't do that!" Amanda said, gasping for breath. After a moment she straightened up. "Where are we? And where are the other people? Ugg, this is way too much to take in at nine in the morning…" "You just teleported," Amanda heard a voice say from behind her. "This is the garage. This is where we keep all our vehicles," a short woman with short black hair. She was dressed in a sweater, skirt, and lab coat.

"Wait, back up. Let me get this straight. You're a bunch of spandex wearing superheroes, who have super special teleporting abilities. Oh, God, what's next? Is Barney your almighty leader?" Amanda snapped. The short woman ran towards her, and the frizzy-haired guy had to hold her back. "It's not spandex! It's a highly complex form of micro fibers that…" she trailed off, seeing the look in the man's eyes.

"Whatever, freak out all you want woman, it is so spandex." Amanda rolled her eyes, trying to figure out just how she got herself into this situation. "Look, I think its time we explained some stuff to you, before the others get back," the frizzy-haired man. He put his arm around the short woman's waist and pulled her close. "We're your mom and dad." And on that note, she fainted.

-------------

When Amanda finally woke up, she heard voices murmuring around her. "…Probably due to the combination of blood loss, fear, and shock she's gone through today…" "I would have fainted to…" "No one asked, Ziggy…" "Trust me, we already would have guessed…" "Nothing ever changes…"

"Mom?" Amanda muttered, "I had the strangest dream." She rubbed her head and opened her eyes. "Ugg, never mind," Amanda groaned. After a moment she opened her eyes again and took in her surroundings. She was on a black couch in 'the garage'. Around her stood the same people who had saved her and her friends.

An African-American man in red stepped towards her, "I'm Scott, the leader of this team." Amanda shook his outstretched hand, "If you say so." The man in blue stepped forward next, "Pleasure to meet you lass, I'm Flynn." She shook his outstretched hand too. A blond woman dressed in yellow pulled her into a hug before she could say anything, "I've been dying to meet you," she pulled away, "I'm Summer."

"Dillon," the one in black said, offering his hand. She took it hesitantly, the bad boy kind of freaked her out. The moment their hands met, Amanda froze. A memory camp rushing back to her. Not really a memory, more a feeling. Pain, fear, it was overwhelming. Her brain became useless, and she began to hyperventilate. She couldn't tell what was happening, but this man, Dillon, was causing it.

"Get away from me, you monster," she screamed at him. Amanda broke down, pulled her knees to her chest and put her face in her hands. She was crying, even though the feeling of pain was leaving her.

"What just happened?" Dillon asked, looking around at the others for an explanation. Summer sat down next to the bawling girl, and pulled her into a hug. "What is it? What happened?" she asked. Amanda choked on her tears, but managed to answer, "I… I can hear it… I can hear the technology inside him. I… I remember it… barely… the pain… that noise always brought pain…" she dropped off and started to cry again.

"You can hear the technology? But how? You would have to have super-human hearing…" Summer looked up at the others, hoping her friends had an explanation. "Her Venjix upgrades…" the short woman in the lab coat offered, although hesitant.

The time passed slowly. Amanda was finally able to calm down, but she still refused to talk, or even look at Dillon. Whenever he would try to make peace, she would freeze and her eyes filled with fear. She rarely talked, and when she did she would only talk to Summer.

-----------

Dillon and Ziggy had been sent out to pick up some stuff for Amanda. Dr. K had given her husband a strict list, and forbade him from spoiling her. Dillon, of course, was not about to start listening to anyone. He was still determined to make peace with the girl.

"You aren't going to let this go, are you?" Ziggy asked his friend as the walked down the streets of Corinth. Dillon shook his head, "I'll meet up with you later." "Aw, come on! I have to go by all this stuff by my self? Aw, you just don't want to ruin your bad boy image by buying all this girly stuff," Ziggy complained to Dillon's retreating back.

Ziggy sighed, and took another look at his wife's list. Purple bedding, purple curtains… his wife would not let her team own more than one color. He stuffed the list back into his pocket and walked towards the first store.

-------------

Amanda was blindfolded and led up a flight of stairs. "Where am I going?" "You'll… See!" the twins giggled. The young girl heard the sound of a door opening, and then her blindfold was ripped off. She gasped at the sight. It was her own room, decorated in purple and pink. She had beanbag chairs, a window seat, a canopy bed, and in the corner, on a light pink dresser, was the biggest stereo system she had every seen.

"I thought I told you to stick to the list," she heard the doctor whisper to her husband in the background. "Don't blame me, Dillon bought it." Amanda turned and gave the bad boy a small smile. Maybe he wasn't too bad.

They all left her alone, to enjoy her new room. As soon as she knew they were out of ears shot, she raced to her book bag that they had placed in the corner of the room and pulled her cell phone out of the bag. They had told her it was unsafe to use her old appliances, because Venjix could be tracking them, so she had to do this in secret.

Amanda hit the speed dial button on her phone that called her cousin, her best friend. As soon as she picked up with her usually cheerful hello, Amanda once again broke down crying. "I hate my life," she cried into the phone.

**A.N. Hi guys! I was going to make this longer, but I'd already wait so long to post, it didn't seem fair. I want to thank everyone whose read this story. You guys rock! I just want to ask you guys a favor. Please check out my new forum RPM: Everything and Anything. I'd really appreciate it. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Byers!!! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N. So sorry that this took forever to get to you guys, but I have a good excuse this time! A huge storm just hit my area. Well, my house hasn't had power since last Friday. I've been staying at my dad's. I finally got my laptop from my place, and I am going to spend some serious time writing this. Sorry for the long author's note. Hope this chapter was worth the wait!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, nada, get the point?**

The tears fell, fast and warm down Amanda's face. "I hate my life!" she cried into the small phone. "Calm down, calm down," said the voice on the other end. "Start from the beginning, tell me the whole story."

The sobbing girl took a few deep breaths, counted to ten, and wiped the tears from her face. "Today started out like any other Friday morning. My mom woke me up, and I took a shower. I finished getting ready for school, and ate breakfast. I just made it into my homeroom before the bell rang. I went to social studies, _joy_, and got a detention for not paying attention. Then I went back to my homeroom for science, and we worked on our digestion projects. I got paired up with Derek!"

Amanda paused to catch her breath, having said that all without stopping. "That's when all the bad began. Derek and I were talking about the soccer game, stuff like that, when there was a huge explosion. Three robots walked in, one was dressed in spandex. They were asking for me, but they knew my real name. Derek, always the gentleman, pushed me behind him and stood up to the robots…"

"AWWW!!!!!" the voice on the other end of the line interrupted. "He likes you!!!!" Amanda sighed; they had been through this before. "Shut up, you know he doesn't. Now let me finish my story before I lose it again."

"So the weird robots threw him around and were about to shoot him when I knocked the gun out of the leader's hand and I just went at him. I, of course, stood no chance, and was thrown across the room too. I made sure Derek wasn't dead, and all of a sudden another dude in spandex runs in and grabs me. I, um, kneed him, and the bots were coming to kill me when six more people in spandex ran in. I thought I was toast, but they were there to help, oops."

Amanda's cousin laughed, "Are you sure you didn't just put a little too much sugar on your frosted flakes?" Amanda growled under her breath, her grip on the phone tightening. "Yeah, so you think I'm lying. Tell me this; would I lie about being kidnapped?" Her cousin's laugher died almost immediately. "What?! Oh. My. God. I'm calling the cops."

"No!" Amanda stopped her. "Just let me finish my story. So the evil robot dudes disappear, and the other people in spandex got rid of their suits. So then my teacher tells me to go with them, and the dude I kneed grabbed my arm, and we were in this garage all of a sudden. Some woman who hates the word spandex tells me all this, oh I don't even remember. Then there all, we're your mom and dad. And then I fainted. After I woke up all these people started introducing themselves, and this one really freaked me out. They got me all this stuff for my own room, and the freaky one got me a really cool radio. And that's my story."

"Um… Wow. Don't really know what to say about that." Amanda's cousin said. "So, um, why can't I call the cops again?" Amanda paused for a second, unsure of the answer herself. "I… I don't think it would help. I feel as if this is something I can't escape from. My life is gone, gone for good. Everything is going to change. Nothing will ever be the same. Katie, tell my mom I love her. I'm not coming home, not now, not ever. Goodbye Katie. I'll miss you."

"Amanda," Katie said, "Please, don't give up. You'll come home, some day. I just know you will." Amanda hung up the phone, feeling worse then she had before. She got up off of her bed and grabbed her school bag. She sat back down, and pulled out a bright, colorful gift bag.

Her stomach growled loudly. Amanda gave a half hearted laugh. Her stomach never gave her a break. It was always embarrassing her in class. I would growl at the worst moments, giving everyone a laugh. Well, it was pretty funny. I could be worse…

Amanda unpacked the contents of the small gift bag. Inside was her favorite lunch. Cheese sandwich on a roll, simple yet delicious, chocolate milk, a childhood comfort, Pringles, the only potato chip she would eat, and her mom's special surprise. A large brownie, covered with rainbow chip icing and a small candle stuck inside it.

Amanda grimaced at the sight of it. The tears once again started to fall as she quietly sung to herself, "Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me…"

* * *

"Hey, Ziggy, have you seen your daughter lately?" Summer asked, walking into the garage. "No, why?" he replied, emerging from the fridge with a carton of milk. He was all ready to take a sip from it when a cannon appeared and aimed at him. "Alright, alright. I'll get a glass." He sighed, "You'd think fourteen years of marriage would make her, I don't know, less hostile, wouldn't you?"

"Well, Jezibel's been here since nine. Don't you think she'd be getting a bit hungry by now?" Summer asked her friend. "Yeah, I guess so." Ziggy said, turning towards her. "I'll go check to see if she wants anything." He put the carton back in the fridge and walked towards the stairs.

Ziggy walked past Scott, Flynn, and Dillon who were working on their cars. "Hey, I'm going up to see if Jez wants some dinner. You guys want to get takeout?" Ziggy asked them. Scott laughed, "When don't we? I vote Chinese." Dillon pushed out from under the Fury. "We had Chinese two nights ago. Let's get pizza." Flynn joined in on the conversation. "Come on. That's all you ever want to eat. Let's get some sandwiches." The three rangers started to argue, their discussion getting louder and louder by the minute. "Sorry I asked," the green ranger murmured.

He climbed the stairs quickly, and was soon standing in the door of his daughter's room. But she wasn't there. He exited the room and ran back downstairs. "Guys, have any of you seen Jezibel?" They took a quick break from their debate to shake their heads at him and continued arguing.

"Oh, God." He murmured. Ziggy pushed past the bickering guys and jumped into Dillon's Fury, which he had forgotten to take the keys out of. He sped out o the garage, down the dark street, looking for a certain runaway.

"Oh, he did not just take my car." Dillon growled, watching his car retreat into the shadows. "I'm going to kill him." "Does this mean we're not getting take-out?" Flynn asked, which caused the rangers the start arguing again.

* * *

Ziggy searched the dark streets of Corinth, hoping to find his daughter. The sudden downpour didn't help. He hoped she hadn't gotten into some sort of trouble. The green ranger kept the windows open, so if she was nearby he might be able to hear her.

Ziggy turned another corner and heard a weak voice, fighting against some unknown figure. "Ow, hey! Look I'm sorry I trespassed, okay? I was just trying to get out of the rain. Now tell your goons to get off of me!" Jezibel screamed at her capture. Ziggy tensed. God, anyone but…

"Look little miss. Do you know who you're talking to? This is Fresno Bob!" Benny's unmistakable voice said. "Relax Benny. The kid's just scared. Listen kid. I ain't too quick to forgive, but I'm sure we could work something out. You like you might be needing some money, am I right? If you were to do a bit of work for me, I could give you some food, a place to stay, some cash. What do you say? Do we have a deal?" Fresno Bob said to the struggling girl.

Ziggy jumped out of the car. "Leave her alone, Bob." He said to his old employer. "Look, Ziggy, I know you and I are even now, but that doesn't mean I won't hurt you if you try to get in the way of my business deals. Now back off and nobody gets hurt." Ziggy laughed, "Look, Bob, just because I was stupid enough to fall for your tricks doesn't mean she is. She got her mother's brains." Fresno Bob looked from Jezibel to Ziggy and back again. "Oh, okay. Let's just pretend this never happened, okay? I'll let this time slide kid, but next time you might not be so lucky." And with that he disappeared.

Ziggy motioned for his daughter to follow him back to the car. She did, reluctantly. She put her hands close the air vents, trying to warm them. Ziggy waited a moment before speaking to her. "Next time you might not be as lucky. If I hadn't come after you…"

"Don't give me the guilt trip." Jezibel interrupted him, giving him a glare much like her mother's. "I don't have to take this. I can get out right now."

Ziggy gave her a knowing glance, "Then why haven't you? Look, we can go back to the garage and see if the guys decided on some take-out. We can pretend this never happened. Or we can tell everyone what happened and watch your mother murder me. It's your choice." She was still glaring at him, "I would prefer the latter."

"Look, I don't understand why you hate me so much. What did I ever do to you?" Ziggy sighed, exasperated. Jezibel laughed sarcastically. "You're kidding, right? First of all, you kidnap me. And, you either lied to me about being my dad or you put me up for adoption because you didn't want me. Whichever it is, you're still the bad guy, and I still don't like you."

The green ranger remained silent. He knew the girl was right, although he hated to admit it. The ride back to the garage was silent. The two refused to look in the other's direction.

Dillon was standing in the doorway of the garage, his arms around his chest, glaring in the direction his car had taken off in.

The car roared back into the garage. Dillon looked ready to kill, but his expression softened when he saw Jezibel, cold and wet, in the passenger seat of the car. She got out, but refused to meet anyone's eyes. The girl shook out her wet hair and flopped down on the couch.

Ziggy got out of the car and followed her. "You can't stay mad at me forever. What can I do to make you trust me?" "I want answers. I want to know everything." She responded. He nodded, "You ask, I'll tell."

"Dillon?" Summer asked, sounding nervous. He looked over at her. She looked scared. "Summer, what's wrong?" her asked, concerned. Dillon grabbed her hand, hoping to ease her fear. "We need to talk," she said to him. Summer led him up the stairs and into their room. That's where she began to cry. "Dillon, I'm pregnant."

**A.N. I hope that was good and worth the wait. I'm sorry this is taking so long to get up, I have no internet connection. I'm supposed to get power back by four today so, fingers crossed! Later.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N. Guys I am so sorry this took forever to get out but my life has been horrible lately. I went through three deaths. My cuz's uncle died, my mom's co-worker's bro died, and one of my friend's dad just died. I just lost one of my closest friends (no she didn't die but she severely back-stabbed me). Other then that, I'm slammed with tests, quizzes, homework, working on my part in the play. So, if anyone is still following this story, bless you.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing goes to me. I wish. If I owned something maybe my life wouldn't suck as much.**

"Pregnant?" Dillon repeated Summer's words yet again. She sighed, "Yes, Dillon, for the fifth time, I'm pregnant." Dillon groaned, and grabbed Summer's hand," Come on, lets go." He started pulling her out the door. She pulled her hand out of his grip, "Go where?" "To Doc," he replied, "We have to see if we can get that thing out of you."

"What…?" Summer gasped, never expecting the words that had come out of his mouth. The tears in her eyes fell freely, her hurt eminent. "You want to kill our baby?" Dillon sighed, "Summer, listen to me. You know as well as I do that it's not safe for you to bring a kid into the world now. There are so many things that can go wrong, so many complications. And what if we do keep the kid, would you be prepared to send it into hiding? Venjix shows no mercy, we've seen that. I will not let the same thing that happened to Jezibel happen to this kid. I don't want us to go through the same pain Doc and Ziggy did. It would be easier for everyone if this kid never existed."

----------

Everyone downstairs thought an explosion had gone off. Summer's screams filled the garage. Dillon was thrown out of the door and into the hallway, his face showing nothing but shock. The door slammed behind him, with a force no one knew Summer had.

Dillon walked down the stairs, trying to figure out what just happened. Amanda jumped up from her place on the couch and stormed towards the black ranger. "What did you do to her?" she screamed in his face.

The young girl didn't wait for an answer, she just pushed past the older man and ran up the stairs. She knocked hesitantly on the door. "Summer… can I come in?" Amanda heard no response, just faint sobs. The younger girl sighed, and knelt to the door in front of the lock.

A few clicks later, and she was in. Summer looked up, surprised. "How…?" Amanda laughed, "I was six, on vacation with my cousin in New York City." She sat down on the black comforter, and told the story. "We had so much fun. On the first night, we went out to lunch. My cousin, Mark, broke his glass, and I felt sick. My Aunt took us to the giant Toys R Us, got us each a present, and took us on the giant Ferris Wheel. Later, my uncle got us a limo to go three blocks to this really cool exhibit. It was all about spies. It was there I learned how to pick locks."

Amanda laughed, but then turned serious and turned to the yellow ranger. "But this isn't about me, what did he do to you?" Summer looked down at her hands before answering, "This is just between you and me, okay? I'm pregnant, and Dillon wants me to… to…" she faltered. "He wants you to abort the baby? Oh, God. I'm gonna kill him."

Summer didn't even try to stop the girl as she tore out of the room, down the stairs, and into the garage. Dillon was standing in the kitchen, drinking a glass of orange juice.

Amanda approached him, "You… you!" she said, anger rising. Just as she was about to start screaming, a voice came over an unknown PA system.

"Jezibel, please come to the ranger room." She looked around confused until Dillon pointed her in the right direction. Amanda walked into the 'ranger room' and immediately saw Dr. K. "_Uh, my mom,"_ Amanda had to correct herself. It was all too weird.

"Follow me," her _mom _said to her. She led her through a previously hidden door. Inside was a small room, with a window behind a huge control panel. With a closer look, she saw that the window looked down into a huge room that was built into the ground. This room was bare, except for a great number of holes and doors on the walls and floor.

"This is our training room. Step inside, and I will explain more." Dr. K said to her. Amanda followed her instructions. "Alright, we can't have a repeat of before," the older woman said over a microphone, "so we're going to start your training. Now, I'm going to start you off easy. Avoid the balls at all cost." The doctor hit a few buttons, and some holes opened. Out of them shot out hundreds of bouncy balls.

Amanda screamed. "Oh my God! These things HURT!"

* * *

Amanda had been training for a few weeks, and she was getting much stronger. Dillon was still sleeping on the couch. Amanda was getting use to her life and new family, but it was hard to forget her old life.

Alarms blared through the garage. All the rangers raced to the lab to see what was wrong, and Amanda followed. "What's going on?" she asked Dr. K. "Venjix, of course. Jezibel, I think you're ready…" "For what?" Amanda glanced around at the others, hoping they would know, but each of them looked as confused as her.

Dr. K pulled something out of her lab coat pocket. "I've been waiting thirteen years to give you this. You're finally ready. You, Jezibel, are the new purple ranger." Ziggy touched his wife's shoulder, "Are you sure? Why did you never tell me about this?"

"Look," Scott interrupted, "We don't have time for this. Come on, we need to go. We'll bring her back in one piece Doc. You ready, Jez?" Amanda gulped, "As I'll ever be."

* * *

About a mile out of Corinth was Buffalo, New York. After the winning game, the soccer team had gone out to dinner. Now they we on their hour long journey home. The bus was crowded with both the team members and chaperones. Emily was sitting with Derik, who was turned around talking with Tomas and Matt. Emily was chatting with Bobbi and Becky.

Most of them had moved on from the event that had occurred the week before, except for Derik. There was something about Amanda leaving that really shook him. He tried to ignore it, but he was starting to loose sleep over it. He just wished he could know if she was alright.

Kids were thrown from their seats as the driver swerved to avoid something. The bus flipped, and people were thrown on top of one another. Derik hit his head on something hard, and right before he blacked out he thought he saw Amanda outside the bus fighting something…

* * *

Amanda jumped onto the back of Summer's motorbike and hung on for dear life as Summer took off through the streets of Corinth. The attack was happening in Buffalo, a city she went to once a year for the soccer championship. Venjix was attacking a hospital, probably looking for more people to infect with his technology.

Summer screeched to a halt in front of a team of grinders, the rest of the team behind her. Amanda jumped off the motorbike. "Ready?" Summer asked her. "Let's go," Amanda replied. She rushed towards the nearest pack of grinders and fought her hardest. The combination of her training and her Venjix upgrades were really giving her an advantage.

While fighting, out of the corner of her eye, Amanda caught sight of a bus swerve to avoid one of Venjix's bots. People screamed. Amanda pried herself from the battle and rushed towards them. She jumped on top of the bus that had turned on its side, and wrenched the door open. She stared in horror at the sight of her friends.

"Come on! Grab my hand!" she screamed at her injured friends. One by one she pulled them out of the wrecked bus and they ran for hiding. She thought everyone out, but them she saw Derik, unconscious on the floor. Amanda jumped into the bus and tried to stir him, to no avail. She grabbed him, and struggled to get him out of the bus.

That's when Amanda saw Venjix's new attack bot. It had its gun pointed directly towards the bus. Amanda knew she wasn't going to be able to get both her and Derik out, so at the last second she dove to the floor, and used her body to cover his. The bus exploded, and Amanda struggled to remain conscious while she was engulfed in a fiery inferno of flames and metal. She flew through the air, still using her body to protect Derik. She crashed into something hard and finally blacked out.

**A.N. Again, really sorry it took so long. I hope this chapter at least partly makes up for it. Thanks to anyone still reading. I'll do my best to get the next chapter up soon. Bye!!!**


	8. Chapter 8

The first thing Amanda heard was the steady beeping of machines. The next was the arguing. She only caught pieces of it, as she drifted in and out of consciousness. "I should have protected her…There was nothing you could do… She wasn't ready…. She was, look at the lives she saved…"

Amanda felt as if she woke up from a long nap, yet not a satisfying one. She hurt, all over. Her head, her back, her legs. All pain. She struggled to remember, something, anything. _"Okay, take this slow. I am Jezibel Amanda Frankston. Or would it be Grover? Anyway, I remember the last few weeks. My new family, friends, home. And I remember the fight, my first fight… Oh, God, Derik!" _

The girl's eye flashed open instantly, and she regretted it. The bright lights made her headache increase. She tried to turn her head, but it felt heavy, way too heavy to move. A face appeared over her. "Jez? Jezibel, can you hear me?" That voice, that face. She tried to match it to her memory. Frowning, brown hair. Kind-of brooding bad boy type… oh. Him. Dillon. Another face appeared beside his, a man with frizzy, curly hair. Right. 'Daddy dearest'. Ugg.

Sure, she had gotten used to her new life, but Amanda didn't love it. "Don't," she murmured, "call me Jezibel. I'm still ready to kill you on a moment's notice." Dillon sighed, "Yup, she's back." Ziggy looked confused. Summer must not have broken the news to everyone yet. Amanda brought her hand up to her throbbing head. How long had she been out, anyway?

"Hey kiddo, how you doing?" Ziggy asked her, smiling. Amanda groaned, "Horrible. How long was I out?" "A couple days," he responded. "And a couple to many. You had us worried sick. And to top it off, your mom couldn't find a single thing wrong with you. It's almost as if you just shut down…" Amanda started to sit up, but Ziggy just pushed her back down. "You have a very annoying habit of finding the one thing that gets on people's nerves, you know that?" The older man just laughed.

"Summer. I need to talk to Summer. Alone." Amanda addressed the man standing above her, and he left wordlessly. A few minutes later, the woman returned. "I'm so glad you're awake," she said to the weak girl lying in the cot. Amanda could hear the tiredness in her voice. "You haven't been getting much sleep, have you?" Summer shook her head. "Morning sickness is not fun. I've been coming up with excuses to why I'm spending so much time cooped up in my room. And I still can't get Dillon's words out of my head…"

Amanda couldn't help but growl at that statement. "He had no right to say that. I swear, as soon as I get on my feet I will hurt him. He doesn't deserve to be a father… But, Summer, he does care about you. I can see it in his eyes. I see the regret he feels whenever you walk by… Maybe… Maybe you should talk… But, first, you need to get medical help. I'm sure the doc wouldn't tell, if you asked. But, I really can't do anything. I can barely hold my self together." She laughed a little, glancing at the various machines she was hooked up to.

"I don't know…" Summer began. "Oh Doc!" Amanda called out, knowing someone would hear her. A few seconds later, Dr. K appeared. "Yes, what is it? Are you in pain?" The young girl shook her head, "Nope, Summer just needs to talk to you about something, something important." The doctor looked at the blond expectantly. "Um…" Summer finally began, "Can we go for a walk…?"

* * *

Though Amanda was in pain, nothing seemed to be wrong with her besides a broken leg and some bruises. Ziggy had gotten her a wheelchair, so she could get around easily. Sitting in the garage on the beat up black sofa, which Dillon was currently using as his bed, Amanda watched Flynn and Scott argue over a pool game, Gem and Gemma sitting together writing in their diaries, and Dillon under the Fury.

Ziggy plopped down next to her, and handed her a steaming cup of hot chocolate. "Some things never change…" He sighed, and fell silent. "How did you defeat Venjix the first time?" Amanda asked, a question she hadn't gotten to ask before. Her dad laughed, "We dropped a building on him. Wow, that was a bad fight. We nearly lost a lot of people that day. Gem, Gemma. Dillon. Tenaya… Oh no." Ziggy jumped up nervously. "Well I'm going to go to bed now. Night." Amanda struggled into her wheelchair. "Bed? It's like six PM! Who's Tenaya?"

With those words the garage fell silent. Ziggy sighed and turned around. He opened his mouth to speak, and the bolted towards the open garage door. Which wasn't such a good idea, considering Dillon was a foot away. He tackled the smaller man to the ground, and started screaming at him. The argument mixed together, until it was nearly unintelligible. "What is wrong… slipped out… you know… don't kill me…"

"Stop!" Amanda screamed at them, rolling over in her wheelchair. "You promised, no more secrets. Ziggy, don't you dare deny you didn't promise." Dillon shook his head, "It's not his secret to tell." He stalked back over to his car, and went back under. Amanda glared at both of them, before rolling over to the stairs that led to her room. She jumped out of her chair, and started pulling herself up the stairs. Flynn made a move to help her, but she just snapped at him. "Don't help me."

As soon as she was up the stairs, Amanda crawled down the hall towards her room. She knew where each person's room was; Gem and Gemma down the hall, Scott on one side of her, Summer's on the other, and Flynn across from her. Flynn was right next to the guys' bathroom, and the girl's was closer to Gem and Gemma's room. Amanda knew she had moved into her dad's old room, while he moved into her mom's room, but Dillon's old room had been left empty. Now that she thought about it, why hadn't he moved into there when Summer kicked him out?

After a quick look to make sure no one was watching, Amanda started towards that room. The door squeaked open, and she cringed. It was dark inside, very dark. The girl hobbled into the room, and closed the door behind her. Inside was a bed and dresser, but the main piece was a chair facing a closed window. Amanda froze when she heard a soft laugh. "Hello. Have you decided you're not too disgraced to see me now? You didn't like to see me like this, the way I used to be, should be. You took away my hand, my eyesight, my freedom. Just because you're afraid to embrace who you are. You're just like me. You know it's true. Let me go. Let me return to my master. He needs me. I need him. And soon you will realize you need him too. Face the facts, brother. I am no longer Tenaya. I am Tenaya generation 17, human attack bot, and General in this useless war. Don't pretend your not there. I heard your heavy footsteps walk in the room."

"You're Tenaya?" Amanda murmured, slightly afraid, slightly fascinated. "I'm afraid you have the wrong idea. I'm Amanda. Who is your brother? Do you need me to get him for you?" Tenaya gave an exasperated sigh. "No, I should have known better than to think he would want to see me. He told me himself, he never wanted to see me again, talk to me again. He didn't want to know I existed anymore, forget I existed. Amanda, who are you?"

Amanda stepped forward a little bit, still a bit untrusting. "I am Jezibel Amanda Franks… um, Grover. Sorry, still getting use to all these changes." Tenaya laughed. "Oh, so you're the great J-89 my master keeps talking about." The younger girl froze at these words, and couldn't help remembering.

_The clanks of machines were all that could be heard. I heard them approaching. The machines brought pain. They made me go to sleep, and when I woke up, I could feel a little more machinery inside of me. Every once in a while, their leader, the one in red, would come too. He would watch over the work the machines did, and would sometimes talk. This time, though, he came alone. "Soon your transformation will be complete, J-89, and you will become mine. You will fight for me, be powerful, smart, and the rangers will not be able to fight back. They would never hurt a child. We will retrieve Tenaya 17, and we will take over this world." _

"You're Tenaya 17… You work for Venjix…" Amanda said, backing away. "Very good. Master Venjix is right, you are smart, even as a hybrid." The young girl turned and ran as quickly as she could from the room with her broken leg. She stopped in her room, and let the tears flow. _"Why do the memories keep coming? I want them to stop. I don't want to remember the pain. I just want to go home. Why can't I turn back time? Make things normal again. I hate my life. I know I say that a lot, but I do." _Amanda was lost in her thoughts and self pity, and barely noticed the figure in her doorway.

"You know, crying alone doesn't help anything. If you missed me so much, you could have called." Amanda's head whipped up in surprise. "Derik, you're ok! Oh my God, I thought the worst, I was afraid for you!" Derik laughed and sat down next to her. "You know, it's a little hard to worry while in a coma. I was the one doing all the worrying. Speaking of which, this is for you." He handed her a soft brow teddy bear, holding a red rose. "Thanks you. This is so sweet." Amanda said, taking the bear with a shy smile. Derik leaned towards her, and tentatively placed a kiss on her cheek. She couldn't help but blush.

* * *

Summer was sitting in the ranger room with Dr. K when they saw Derik helping Amanda down the stairs. She sat down in her wheelchair, and they went out the door and down the street. Ziggy walked into the ranger room a minute later. "They're going to get some dinner and then see a movie. I told them to be back by eleven thirty." Summer was still thinking about something else. "Did she look okay to you? She looked kind of… shaken. Like she just heard something shocking, or learned something… No… You don't think…?" Ziggy shook his head. "No, she wouldn't. I think she learned not to cross Dillon."

Dr. K interpreted the silence, "Ziggy, can you get everyone in here? It's kind of important." He nodded, and left. A few minutes later, the ranger team was assembled in, and Dr. K and Summer stood before them. Dr. K began, "Summer has come forward with something, and we both believe the rest of you deserve to know. Summer." The blond avoided her friends eyes. "I'm pregnant. And I' keeping the baby. No matter who disapproves. Also, I'd like you to know, the father doesn't want his own kid. So, put me as the bad guy in this fight, and I will hurt you. Thanks, you can go back to your everyday lives now." She ran from the room.

All eyes then turned to Dillon. All angry. The man didn't even try to defend himself, just went after his girlfriend. "Well," Ziggy broke the silence, "Anybody want takeout?" "Chinese… Pizza… No… We had that last night… So, what your point… Pizza!"

Ziggy sighed, and grabbed his wife's hand. "Let's go out tonight." Dr. K agreed. "Why do you even need to get them started? It never ends well."

**A.N. Yes, it's true! I'm back! Yay. Anyway. I doubt this was worth the wait. If anyone reads this, I'll be surprised. But if you do, please review. I'll appreciate knowing someone's there and supports me. Hope to hear from you soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

"_Bored, bored, bored…"_ Was all Amanda could think. She had been put on bed rest for a week. Movies had been watched, TV had been seen, and books had been read. Now, she was bored. Summer was in the same boat. Whenever Dillon or Scott decided a fight was too dangerous or risky for her or the baby, back to the garage Summer trudged.

On day eight on her confinement, Amanda hobbled into the lab. Her leg was healing relatively quickly, so the wheelchair had been unnecessary after a few days. Dr. K was sitting at her computer, like usual, but closer inspection showed she was playing solitaire. "Hello, Jezibel." She said, glancing up at her.

Amanda rolled her eyes, but continued over. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at the doc's computer background. "The old ranger suits. Do you notice the differences between Series one and Series two? They were necessary when Venjix took the Series one ranger suit. For example, the belt is over the shoulder and around the waist now, instead of the harness like design. And all your accessories: the boots, gloves, belt; they're all black. The helmets look more like your animal. Do you understand?"

The young girl nodded. "Thanks for dumbing it down Doc. I normally can't understand a word you say." She turned to leave, but hesitated. "Um, can I ask you something?" Dr. K nodded, "Certainly." Amanda played with her fingers for a second, before continuing. "If we are able to defeat Venjix… Do you think I'd be able to go home?" The doctor turned back to her computer screen. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Amanda hobbled back out the door. If she would have turned back, she would have noticed the single tear slip down her mother's face.

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Something had been bothering the purple ranger. It nagged at the back of her mind, but refused to reveal itself. Something Tenaya had said: _"…never wanted to see me… talk to me… know I exist…"_ And then it clicked. _"…It's not his secret to tell…"_ Dillon. Dillon was Tenaya's brother. Her last bit of humanity.

Amanda had heard how the hybrid's voice had softened when she talked about her brother. The electronic edge was gone. It was Tenaya, the human, talking. Not the attack bot.

The young girl got up off the black couch. She did a quick check to make sure no one was watching, before hobbling as quickly and as quietly as she could up the stairs. Amanda took a deep breath before walking into the darkened room. "Tell me what happened between you and your brother. Tell me about Dillon." She demanded, walking closer and closer to the hybrid. Tenaya just chuckled.

Downstairs, Dillon dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. Summer was by his side in an instant. "What is it, what's wrong?" she panicked. The rest of the rangers gathered around him, watching his eyes flicker from brown to red. Then, it was all over. The black ranger struggled to retrieve his breath. "What… What was that? That noise?"

Everyone was too focused on Dillon to notice the two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs. What did catch their attention, however, was the blaster shot that narrowly missed the group. "You know," Tenaya sneered, "leaving my confiscated weapons right next to me was not the best idea. Oh, and you also might want to check the strength of your anti-virus." She gestured to the girl standing beside her.

Amanda's eye's glowed red, her beautiful smile twisted into an evil smirk. "Let her go," Ziggy demanded, coming closer. All he got in return was a blaster bolt in the arm, as he was sent flying backwards. "No," Tenaya cooed, wagging her finger. She grabbed Amanda's arm, pulling the young hybrid towards her. "Move another step, and she gets a blaster bolt in the head." The two backed away slowly. "Bye-bye Daddy. See you soon." Amanda laughed as the two bots turned and ran. The Rangers ran to the garage door, but it was too late. They were gone.

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Amanda followed Tenaya down the long, dark hallway. She hadn't been here since she was a baby. 13 long years. Now she would be reunited with her master. The hallway had twists and turns, so no prisoner could ever find their way out. No one could escape. Finally, Tenaya led her through two huge metal doors, and into a large room. Several robots stood along the edges, all focused on the one in the center.

"Master," Amanda smiled, dropping down on one knee. Tenaya did the same beside her. "Your plan was a complete success." Venjix turned towards them. "As I knew it would. It's good to have you back on our side, J-89. Tenaya 17, with you two, we will win this war."

The two attack bots rose to their feet. "Now, J-89, tell me what you know." Venjix continued. She nodded. "I have done what you hoped, Master. I have learned their strengths, weaknesses, powers. I, Sir, know how to take down the power rangers. One by one."

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"No, no, no! My calculations can not be correct." Dr. K paced around the lab, occasionally glancing at the compute screen, hoping it would change. "Doc, what is it?" Scott asked, as the rangers gather closer around her desk. She stopped pacing, and looked at them.

"Tenaya was correct. The anti-virus wasn't strong enough. In fact, it did nothing at all. It was completely in-effective," Dr. K rambled. "What do you mean, Doc?" Dillon questioned, "We saw for ourselves, the virus was completely washed out of her." She shook her head. "No, Dillon, it wasn't. We didn't do anything. Venjix shut her off. I don't understand why I didn't see this before. Look at her brain-scan I took when she was in a coma. The part of her brain that holds memories is over 50% electronic. Venjix designed her to be able to remember immense amounts of things."

"So, that's bad?" Flynn asked, looking confused. "Flynn, she's seen all of our training sessions, all of our battles. She knows our strengths and weaknesses. Jezibel knows everything. And she can use everything against us. We're… We're…" The doctor struggled to find the right words. "Doc, "Dillon interjected, "I think the phrase you're looking for here is 'we're screwed'."

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For a few days, everything was quiet. Then, the day of the annual Masquerade Ball celebrating Corinth's freedom came. None of the rangers really wanted to go. Until, that is, Dr. K got an urgent call from the Colonel.

"Dr. K, we've got a problem on our hands. Today, a very dazed looking troop walked up to me, and handed me this." The Colonel held up a piece of paper.

"Dear Colonel,

I hear you're having your annual freedom ball for Corinth. I was very disappointed that I didn't get an invitation. I am a citizen of Corinth now. I was hurt. It's almost like you don't want me there. Well, don't worry, I'll be there anyway. Oh, and tell the rangers, that if they care about their precious city, they'll be there too. See you tonight.

Love,

J-89 xoxo"

"Is this some sort of joke, or something I really need to be worried about?" Colonel Truman demanded. "This is bad. Very, very bad," Dr. K said. "Should we cancel the ball?" The Colonel asked. The woman shook her head, "The attack will still happen, but we won't know where. We won't be able to prepare. Have your troops ready. Have them at every door, checking invitations. Don't let anyone in without one. My rangers will handle the rest." The man nodded, and ended the connection. Dr. K hit the button on her computer that accessed the PA system. "Rangers. Get your costumes ready. We're going to that ball. We have a level 3 emergency. Venjix has something planned for tonight. Get ready."

Out in the garage, an argument had already started. "You're not going." Dillon and Scott insisted. "I am not made of glass. I will not shatter if I'm touched. I have to fight. Besides, I'm not going to sit here alone and worry about you all night," Summer complained. The black ranger looked ready to protest, but Scott cut him off. "Fine. Dillon can stay with you. Win-win situation."

The blond looked even angrier than before. "In whose world is that a 'win-win situation'?" Scott backed away a bit, "Everyone's. The team wins because you're not in any danger. Your baby wins because it won't be beaten around. You win because you won't be alone. I win because I don't have to face your wrath. Dillon does." Dillon glared at the red ranger, "Thanks Scott. You might want to check how your car's doing in the morning. Oh, and incase you forgot, you need a date. And, last time I checked, there was only one single woman here. Have fun."

Flynn and Scott immediately ran to Gemma, not wanting to go find a date. Gem simply looked confused, and a little angry. He didn't like being away from his sister. A few minutes later, Flynn emerged victorious, and Scott dragged the gold ranger out of the garage to go find dates for that night's events.

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At 8:00 PM, all the rangers and their dates we stationed in the giant ball room. Ziggy looked triumphant and a little nervous, while Dr. K looked uncomfortable in her white dress. Every once in a while, she would give her husband a death stare, which didn't have quite the same affect from under a mask.

Gemma looked like she was having the time of her life; pulling Flynn out on the dance floor for every other song, twirling in her long silver dress, and eating much more sugar than she should have. Gem talked Vasquez into coming with him, and actually looked like he could function without his sister. Scott's date left him after five minutes to go dance with someone else. She still hadn't returned.

Colonel Truman's troops were keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, but nothing happened yet. Corporal Hicks was helping to guard the main door. "Excuse me, Miss," He called out to a young girl entering the ballroom. "May I see your invitation?" Her mask shielded her face, so Hicks couldn't tell who she was. The girl pulled out an ID. "Official RPM business." She said, a tone of authority in her voice. Hicks nodded, and sent her through.

J-89 blended into the crowd perfectly. Her long purple dress hid her cast, and her matching mask hid her eyes. Curls cascaded down her back, hiding her bruises. She quickly spotted the rangers. They were looking for something out of the ordinary. _"Well,"_ the attack bot thought to herself, _"let's give them what their looking for." _

J-89 made her way to the center of the ball room, before aiming her blaster straight up at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It exploded, sending glass and crystals everywhere. "You-who! Daddy! I'm over here! Miss your little princess?" People screamed and ran. But the young girl didn't care. Her focus was on the rangers.

The attack bot reached for her morpher. She hesitated for a moment, knowing how hard a fight would be with her broken leg. But her goal wasn't to win, it was to distract. "RPM! Get in gear!" J-89 yelled out. "How ironic," she sneered. "I'm using your own technology against you."

"We can't fight her…?" Gemma questioned, hesitantly. "We have to." Scott said, stepping forward. "Rpm!" They called out. "Get in gear!" J-89 aimed her blaster, and was prepared to fire, when she heard Tenaya through the communicator in her ear. "Retreat. J-89, I'm heading your way. I've hit a slight… ah… complication in the plan. Be prepared for an angry, over-protective bad-boy." A few seconds later, Tenaya did burst through the doors of the ballroom, followed by Dillon and Summer. She ran over, threw J-89 on her back, and ran back out the door.

All of the rangers de-morphed. "Well, that was anti-climatic." Ziggy muttered. "Anyone else really confused?" Scott asked. "Yeah…" Flynn answered. "Dillon, why are you only wearing boxers?" The black ranger growled, and stalked back out the door, Summer right behind him. Dr. K shook her head. "Let's go. I want to get out of this dress." Her husband grinned, and pulled her out the door. "I don't think that's quite what she meant." Flynn laughed.

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"You've failed." Venjix growled. "I'm sorry master." J-89 sank to one knee, begging for forgiveness. "Not quite." Tenaya smirked. "We already knew the yellow ranger was pregnant. But, their fearless leader left this lying open in her lab, and I thought I just might borrow it. In hear are the medical records of all the rangers. And Blondie's, well, this is something you might want to see for yourself."

**I think this might have been my longest chapter yet. What did you think? Good? Please review :) If you do, I might be able to get another chapter out quickly. Oh, and the dresses the girls had will be in my profile.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Dillon, just get me some steak and flounder, with a Cobb salad and some fresh bread on the side! It's not that hard. I'm not just eating for myself anymore, and I deserve to be happy!" Summer screamed down the stairs of the garage. Dillon cowered at the bottom. Scott poked his head out of his room. "Dillon, get her some food so I can get some SLEEP!"

Dillon shook his head, wondering how he ever got into this mess. He entered the pass code on the lab door, hoping to sneak some money out of the lockbox for Summer's defined tastes. What he didn't expect was the Doc sitting at her computer, working tiredly. "Can I help you?" She stifled a yawn. "I just needed some cash… what are you doing up?" Dillon questioned.

"I would ask you the same question, but I think Ziggy is the only one asleep. Soundproof walls…" She hit a few more keys on her computer, and sighed in annoyance. "Come on Doc, there can't possibly be anything you need to work on this late at night." The black ranger went around to the back of her desk to see her screens. On one was a medical report, filled with Jezibel's injuries. Another showed the scan of her brain, what parts held technology, and which parts were still her. Yet another showed a complex series of numbers and letter, something Dillon couldn't follow.

"Quite the opposite, actually. I don't have enough time in the day to finish this. I've got some pretty bad news though. Besides part's of Jezibel's brain being more than 50% robotics, this chart shows her injuries should be completely healed by now. That means she can fight back. I'm trying to upgrade this anti-virus, so it works on both Jezibel and Tenaya, but I just can't do it." Dr. K's voice faltered, as she wasn't able to say the words of defeat.

"Doc, you're the only one who can do it. We will get your daughter back, and we will kill Venjix, I promise." Dillon placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Thank you, Dillon, but you have Summer to take care of, and your future family. Here, go get here something to eat. I really don't want you dead tomorrow morning." She pulled out a few bills and gave them to the black ranger. He nodded in thanks, and disappeared into the garage. The doctor only returned to her work when she could no longer hear his car down the street.

Dr. K was surprised to hear her husband's light footsteps from behind her. "Couldn't sleep?" She asked absentmindedly. She could see him shaking his head in a dark computer screen. "Haven't been able to for a long time."

"Look," he said, pulling up a chair. "I'm an orphan. My mom died in a car crash when I was three, and my dad was an alcoholic. He beat me every night, till I was almost dead, but not enough that I wouldn't be there to beat the next night. I wasn't allowed to go to school, so I taught myself from home. One night, my dad came home extra drunk. He started screaming that I was a disgrace, and I was stealing from his drinking money by being alive. So, he gave me a fighting chance. He beat me for a few minutes, then told me to run. He told me to run as fast as my seven year old legs could take me. So I did. I ducked through alleys, cut across lawns, did everything I could to get away. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. I could hear him laughing, but couldn't see him."

Ziggy paused, as if he was short of breath just remembering, and then continued. "Then I saw a building in front of me. It was dark, and scary, but it had to be better than outside. So I went in. I was in a lobby of some sorts. There was a desk at the end, with a small bell to ring if you needed help, or so the sign said. So, I hit it. Nothing happened. I hit it again. Nothing. I banged and banged, and threw it against a wall, anything to get it working. Finally, a woman came running out of a small room, dressed in a long nightgown, to see what was going on.

I started crying, saying that he was going to kill me over and over again. She tried to calm me down, gave me a warm glass of milk and a cookie, and called the police. They came, asked me a few questions, left, and came back. Different policemen, different questions, all except one. 'What's your name?'

I was baffled. I had no idea. Mom had named me, she called me something, but Dad always called me boy, or son, or idiot, among other things. I tried to remember, something from my infant years. Just a name. But I came up blank. All I could remember was a short memory of my mom teaching me art, and me watching TV. 'This is a Zigzag line, sweetie. It goes in one direction, then changes its mind and goes in another. It keeps doing that forever.' 'Oh, that? That's Grover, sweetie. Isn't he a silly little monster?' That's all I remember of her voice. So, I made my own name.

From that day forward, I was Ziggy Grover. I would go in whatever direction I wanted to, but I would keep a good outlook on life, like that silly little monster Grover. It's all had left from my past, and all I was taking with me to my future. I didn't trust very many people. But when I did, I stuck to them. I didn't let anything hurt them. I would not let anyone take away what I had left.

But that's what Venjix is doing. He's taking away what I have left. He took away my daughter. He took away my freedom. He took away my Grover. You and I, K, are getting our girl back. If she has one thing left in her life, it's her humanity. And that's what she's going to keep. Now what can I do to help?"

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J-89 screamed in agony. Venjix had not been happy with the performance on the last mission. It had devoted it's time to planning the next attack and punishing her and Tenaya-17. He was currently adding more technology to her recently recovered leg. Grinders were carelessly digging and scraping her flesh. Stupid human insecurities. One grinder hooked a machine up to her head, and it sent shocks through her. One shock, jeez that hurt. Two shocks, oh God, what did I do to deserve this? Three shocks, struggling to stay conscious. Four, and she was out.

"_Come one Jezibel, were going to be late. We need to be at the airport in an hour." The girl groaned, "For the last time, please call me Amanda. Jezibel is way too old fashioned." She raked a comb through her wet waves, squeezing excess water onto the floor. "Fine, Amanda, make sure you grab your phone and charger." Amanda dropped her comb and ran around the corner into the kitchen, yanking the phone charger out of the socket. It felt like something bit her, and she was on the floor, pain pulsing through her arm. Her mom came through a second later, and saw her daughter on the floor_

"_No, Amanda! You didn't touch the socket with your wet hand. Are you okay?" She was on her knees, feeling her young girl's pulse. "I... I…" Amanda lifted her head and started to answer, but was cut off as she started to shake violently. –Ztez-Ztez- The sound of malfunctioning electronics echoed through her body. Her mom started into her eyes, which flickered with red light. Then, it was over._

"_What… what just happened?" Amanda asked, pulling herself off the ground. Her mom was clearly shaken, but tried to hide it. "Nothing, nothing. You just touch the socket with a wet hand and got a small electric shock. Nothing too big. The pure shock of the event much have made you fall. Come on, we'll be late." Amanda felt as if there was something her mom wasn't telling her but shrugged it off and grabbed her phone, heading out the front door. _

J-89 woke up in her small room. The dream had unnerved her. She had almost completely forgotten about her past life, her family, her humanity. She subconsciously ran her fingers through her soft waves, before pulling them up in a messy bun. Venjix mustn't know about what was going on in her head. He would punish her even more. She could barely stand from the last time.

"-J-89, Tenaya 17, you're presence is required-"a voice crackled through her room. The hybrid didn't need to be told where to go, or who needed her. It was always the same. J-89 met Tenaya 17 outside her room, and they made their way through the twisting hallways together.

"What is you wish, master?" The girls spoke together, dropping to one knee in front of Venjix. "Rise, Generals." They did as told. "I have a new mission for you. You know well the contents of the medical records you retrieved. Thus, the yellow ranger must not be hurt. I understand the yellow ranger is very emotional during her pregnancy. Once she is far enough along, you must cause such emotional damage that it sends her into labor. We will then capture her and take what is hers for our use. As for now, we need to keep them occupied as to not get suspicious. Take your favorite toys and cause some damage."

The Generals grinned. "Yes master," they agreed, and made their way out of the room and towards the city.

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On their trek towards Corinth, the hybrids caused damage to anything in their path. However, Tenaya 17 noticed her counterpart seemed a little less enthusiastic about the destruction. "Something's bothering you." J-89 turned away from a group of children she was half-heartily terrorizing, and watched over her shoulder as they ran away crying.

"Yes," she agreed, but didn't do anything else to elaborate. The elder 'bot let it go, but promised she would confront the younger later.

Tenaya didn't have much more time to dwell among her thoughts, though, because they had arrived in Corinth. She sent a blast at a group of pedestrians, and smirked at their screams. "5, 4, 3, 2-"The roars of a motorbike and jeep cut her off. "Ah, right on time." She mused. "Ready to stall?" She asked her co-General.

"Well, if this doesn't break me out of my slump, I don't know what will." J-89 cracked her knuckles and straightened a mechanical headband. "Let's do this…" Her attention was caught by a boy standing on a nearby sidewalk. His gaze was fixed straight on her, but he was not screaming in fear like all the other citizens. He was calm, but he had a deep look of hurt in his eyes. J-89's feet began to carry her towards the boy, unsure of the connection between them.

"I know him," she muttered to herself. She didn't even hear Tenaya call her name in warning, and the rangers suit up. Her eyes kept locked on the boys even as a body collided with her, sending her to the ground. The person held her still, pinned her arms to her sides, but she wasn't putting up any fight. The boys didn't move, barely blinked, and just stood with his sorrowful eyes.

Only as a needle pierced the soft skin on her neck did her mechanical instincts kick in. The robot inside her pushed the body off, sending it flying. She yanked the needle out of her neck, hissing as it tore more skin. Blood fell in droplets down the pierced flesh. She could feel the unknown drug pulsing through her blood, and all she knew was it had to come out.

She bent over, gagging violently. It was useless, she knew. The drug was in her blood, not her stomach. But the mechanics inside didn't understand. It just wanted this foreign substance out. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. The hybrid was barley aware of her counterpart throwing her on her back and sprinting away, couldn't hear the rangers chasing behind them. All she could focus on was getting the drug out. She looked up for a brief second, between her gagging, and looked towards the sidewalk. There she saw the boy, head bowed sadly, hands in pockets, turning and walking away.

"Derik." Was all she could murmur before the contaminated blood reached her brain, shutting her down. She heaved one last time before flopping like a rag doll on Tenaya's back.

**A.N. Um, surprise? 2,200 words on something you probably never thought would be written on again? Call it boredom. Call it inspiration. Call it "this internet connection sucks and won't let me go on facebook or play mindless games so I guess I might as well be creative." I really don't care. I just hope someone still has this in their alerts and will bother to read. Now, if fanfiction would just let me sign on…**


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